Soul
by Bahamuts AngelVII
Summary: Oneshot. He always felt as if he was never good enough. She always knew that he was. [Cloud x Tifa]


**Soul  
**_Final Fantasy VII_

**By: **Bahamuts AngelVII

**A/N: **One-shot… I wrote this after receiving some good feedback on my other Cloti one-shot, _Strangers_. If you like this, then read that one too. And review XD.

Listening to her soothing voice, I cannot feel any pain. All of the tears I have shed, all of the moments of hardships I have had, they feel as if they are gone. The weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders. It is amazing. She speaks and speaks, her words rolling gracefully off her tongue.

I say something stupid. She giggles. I don't understand why she seems to take an interest in a boring, normal person like me. I am broken. I do not seem to know how to live. We talk late into the night, and I look out the window. Daybreak is barely upon is. The stars are still twinkling brightly, vividly, almost blindingly. It was almost like that one night, the one night we spent beneath the stars. It was almost like this. Almost.

Tonight is better, though I don't know why. I think it's because _he_ is gone. _He _is gone, and now I can figure out the world as it should be. I can finally focus on what I'm meant to. I know she is here, and I know she is waiting. The whole world is waiting for her.

She asks me if I'm okay. I haven't spoken. I look at her, into her shimmering eyes. She looks at me in earnest, as if trying to see what's behind _me_. I never understood why she cared. I cannot possibly tell her what I am thinking. When her name passes my mind, I cannot believe what I'm feeling. I feel friendship, loyalty… anger… jealousy, and regret… and love… I love her, but I cannot. I cannot let myself love her the way she deserves to be loved. I can't even think it in my mind, because the thought is as treacherous as the moment we kissed.

That kiss was an accident. A mistake. I told her so. She recoiled. She was afraid. I wanted to take it back. I loved her. I love her. She has moved on, I can plainly see. Her eyes often shine with compassion. I can tell just by looking at her that we are as worn into each other like pieces of a puzzle. But it's not like we'll ever become more than that.

She does not love me. And although I know that with every fiber of my being, I can't believe it. I want to her to love me. I want her to tell me she loves me. Here I am, sitting here, complete with my imperfections and broken heart. She talks about _her_. The one I regret to say, I had thought I loved. She was gone. She is gone. And I regret not being able to save her, but I know deep down if she had lived I would not have realized the truth.

Or, more so, I would've pretended the truth was a lie. I would have been living a lie. I would have been separated from the one woman I knew I loved, from the beginning. I know now that I want it like this. Before I would've given anything to bring _her_ back, but now I am certain that this is the path meant for me. For us. And even if she never knows that I love her, I'll still be waiting. My heart might be broken, shattered, into a million pieces, but even that wouldn't measure up to the pain I have caused her in the past.

She calls me back from my mental travels, and she has a mysterious look in her eyes. I glance at her questioningly. She asks me if I miss _her_. Yes, I reply, I do. But I don't love her. Startled, she covers it up by staying silent. I see right through her. She is trying to push me into saying more. Can I?

I tell her slowly, carefully, I love someone else. She glances at me, her eyes full of tears. She has no idea what to say. So I keep talking. I tell her the woman I love is sitting across from me at this very moment. I tell her that the woman is the only person I've ever loved. I promised to be her knight.

She leans forward a little. I cannot tell what she is thinking. Slowly, but surely, the space between our lips is filled. I feel as if my mouth is on fire. It is a soft, tender kiss. Full of meaning and questions and words we've worked so hard to keep under wraps.

And I can say, so truthfully that I love her. I say it over and over. I love you, I love you, I love you. Do you love me?

Searching for more than truth… I am grasping for her.

I need her.

Faithfully intertwined, I realize now.

All along… Love was right here.

And nothing has changed.

Except for two lost souls.

Us.

**A/N: **Review! I would like to know what you all think.


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